Reloaded
by Roselia Rose
Summary: Emerald eyes stared at the object before her. She aimed it at her head and shot. A normal life is turned upside as a return to Fuuka Island starts a chain of events that should not have happened. The shadows have returned. Full Summary Inside. AU Shiznat.
1. Prologue

A/N: Well this is my first story in the Mai HiME category and I hope this goes well .

I'm using Person 3 concepts and combining it with Mai HiME so its not exactly a crossover. And of course this will be a Shiznat story. But their romance will develop over time so don't expect anything immediately.

**Full Summary:** Natsuki Kuga is living a normal life in Tokyo. She's the star athlete of the track team, top ranking student, and the most popular rebel at school. Despite getting in trouble on a daily basis, she manages to be in the top ten ranking of school. However, she throws this all away when dark things plague her dreams and leaves to the island city of Fuuka. There she finds herself embroiled in a struggle of the shadows where companions are essential if she wants to survive.

This is a teaser for what is to come since the prologue deals with Natsuki's life before the actual storyline. Hope you enjoy this story :]

Disclaimer: I own nothing, Mai HiME and Persona 3 do not belong to me. The only thing I claim is mine is this fanfiction. Any similarities to other stories are pure coincidence.

--

_Prologue: Left Behind _

The train continued to chug along as the passengers were talking amongst themselves or staring blankly outside the window. In one particular compartment, a navy haired girl was one of those few staring listlessly at the passing landscape. There was not much to see though besides a few barren trees. She continued this action as she recalled the reasons as to why she was on this train to begin with.

-

"Natsuki, are you sure about this?" asked a man around his forties. He was starting to go bald and over the years he had packed on a few pounds. Despite his growing belly, he was still in shape.

"Yeah old man I'm sure. I-I, just have to do this. I used to live there you know. And besides, I'll be living in a dorm with other students." responded the same navy haired girl. "I'm seventeen now, I can handle myself."

"I know that, but I just don't get why you want to go there now. You've already started high school here and its the best one in Tokyo. And, well I'm worried. Cause...well, you know."

The girl was silent for a few moments before replying: "Yeah. Thanks old m-, I mean thanks Yamada. You've been the best. Taking care of me for all these years when you didn't have to. I really appreciate it." By the end she was mumbling.

The old man, or Yamada was quiet for a bit, he didn't expect such an emotional response from his usually stoic 'daughter'. "It was nothing, best years of my life." He gave her a gentle smile which she returned with a light blush.

"Well, I guess this is good bye now." He blinked back a few tears, he didn't want her last image of him to be one of weakness.

"Not good bye, its see you later." She gave him a small grin. "Unless you don't wanna see me again."

He choked back the tears as he happily said: "Of course, see you later Natsuki."

Natsuki smiled broadly as she pulled him into a tight bear hug. "Yeah, I'll see you around old man. Don't get too lazy without me around now, 'kay?" She left it at that and walked out of her house of thirteen years. She climbed into the taxi that had been waiting and headed off towards the station.

-

"Excuse me miss." asked a polite young man. He appeared to be a waiter aboard the train.

Natsuki was pulled out of her thoughts as she looked towards the waiter. She nodded for him to go on.

The waiter blushed slightly, the passenger was simply beautiful. She had silky blue hair that grew just a bit past her waist. Even from her seated position he could tell that she had a thin frame and her body was nicely shaped. Natsuki coughed a bit to regain the attention of the young man causing him to flush a darker shade of red.

He'd been caught staring. Mentally smacking himself he gave her a sheepish smile and introduced himself. _God! I'm acting like a total pervert._ "I'm Hiroshi Tendou, I'll be your attendant for this day long trip to Fuuka. Please do not hesitate to call me for anything by pressing this button." Hiroshi pointed to the small red button on the side of the sliding door frame. _Yep, call me for **anything**. Argh! I need to get my mind out the gutter._

"Thank you Tendou-san. Now if I may rest..." Natsuki quirked an eyebrow at her attendant.

"Ah, yes of course. Excuse me." Hiroshi hurried out of the compartment flustered at the beauty of his passenger. God was she pretty.

After the young man left Natsuki released a sigh she had been holding in. It had taken all of her restraint to not pummel the attendant for ogling her when he was supposed to be working. _Now, now Natsuki. No beating up the workers when you're gonna be stuck here for the night._ She sighed again as she looked around her compartment. She was tired earlier and did not bother to examine her surroundings.

The place was nice. It was fairly large with soft cushioned seats on both sides of the area. Natsuki knew that the seat opposite her pulled out into a makeshift bed. The entrance to the compartment was a wooden sliding door that could be locked with the flip of a switch. Beside the door were two windows on either side which had curtains that could be closed when one wanted privacy. Opposite the door was a larger window, one that could be opened. She'd been staring outside through this one previously. It had curtains as well. Above the large window was a metal luggage rack. It was built securely so no chance of anything falling off it and onto her head when she decided to sleep. It wouldn't have hurt much anyways. There was only a medium sized duffel bag stuffed with clothes and some hygienic necessities. Next to it was a small navy backpack with handheld video games, batteries, a cellphone, and some snacks in it. Finally there was a pile of blankets and two pillows next to it.

Natsuki glanced at her backpack but decided against playing with her video games. She opted to instead pull out the hideaway bed and grabbed the pillows and blankets off the rack.

She took a few minutes to arrange the bed with her pillows. Afterwards she closed all the curtains, locked the door, and settled on the bed. It took a few minutes to find a comfortable position.

When she did she closed her eyes. But as fate would have it, she was not sleepy at all. So she stared at the ceiling for a few minutes and after tiring of this rolled onto her side. She began thinking of how her life had been these past years.

--

Well that's all you guys get for now since I'm sleepy and I still have homework to do. The next chapter is being written though so no worries.

**_Teaser:_**

_The last thing she saw was her mother smiling at her as blood dripped down her forehead and telling her everything would be alright despite all of the shards of glass puncturing her mother's body. _

Hope you enjoyed this story so far. Hehe I hope the teaser entices you to read and review this :D

Future chapters will be longer.


	2. Chapter 1

A/N: An early update but only because I wrote this last night instead of doing my homework but fell asleep before uploading. Right now I'm kind of sick so sorry if I didn't catch all the mistakes.

_And thanks to: __lildevilish, rantuyetmai, MissIzzyB, and Kukri-han for the kind reviews. Sorry I can't respond personally, I'm a bit busy with homework and badminton to reply one by one. _

Disclaimer: I own nothing, Mai HiME and Persona 3 do not belong to me. The only thing I claim is mine is this fanfiction. Any similarities to other stories are pure coincidence.

--

_Chapter 1: One Thing Leads to Another  
_

Her life had been eventful to say the least.

Around the age of four she went on a trip with her mother, Saeko Kuga. Natsuki adored her mother. She hated having to be apart from her for more than a few minutes. This was rather difficult since Saeko had a job as a researcher/ spy for a big time company in Fuuka. And Natsuki's father, Haru Kuga, had things to deal with at his own company so both parents spent little time with their daughter. Natsuki could have cared less about her father since he was generally distant towards her, but her mother was necessary.

So when her mother finally had time away from her work, Saeko took the young Natsuki for a small trip away from Fuuka.

--

Natsuki had been strapped into a child's car seat in the back while Saeko was driving and singing to entertain her daughter. They were coming back from their trip to Tokyo and the two were enjoying every moment with one another.

Natsuki, although young, was very intelligent. She understood adults fully even when they used 'big' words. So it was easy for Saeko to talk to her daughter and receive proper responses.

"So my dear, did you enjoy the city life today?" she giggled as she saw her daughter's head bobbing up and down profusely.

During their time in Tokyo the two had spent the entire day just roaming the city. They stopped by a quaint cafe after playing in the park and visiting the zoo. And when they weren't anywhere specific, they just wandered Tokyo and absorbed the atmosphere. Natsuki's favorite location was most likely Akihabara; she was in love with all of the electronic games there.

"Yeah! I love it mama. Tok tok is wow. All the people and cars moving all the time was fun." Natsuki grinned and fidgeted like a tiny puppy. Saeko loved how adorable her daughter was. She couldn't get enough. "I'm glad my cute little girl. I love you so much."

"Mou, mommy I'm not cute. I'm cool."

And that was the last thing Natsuki Kuga ever said to her mother. After that comment she saw two blurs and then there was a crash. Their car had flipped multiple times before landing upside down.

Images of black and red flashed through the toddlers eyes. Then she blacked out. But before that, the last thing she saw was her mother smiling at her as blood dripped down her forehead. Saeko was telling Natsuki that everything would be alright despite all of the shards of glass puncturing her own body.

--

Natsuki awoke in a sweat. She was lucky, she didn't scream this time.

"Damn nightmares." She said to no one in particular. These had been the reason Natsuki decided to leave her life in Tokyo behind to go to Fuuka. She had had these dreams for a year after the incident and afterwards they stopped suddenly. It was as if the dreams starting up again were acting like a message. And it was telling her to return to the city where her mother died.

Natsuki hoped that maybe, just maybe, the nightmares would stop if she went back.

It was improving a bit already, probably. This was the first time she woke without screaming her head off.

"Stupid comfy bed, making me fall asleep." She muttered. Then again it had been days since she'd gone to sleep for more than a few hours. The quiet atmosphere and comfortable bed must have lulled her to sleep.

Natsuki sat up from her bed for awhile and listened to the quiet noises the train made as it sped by the tracks. Deciding she couldn't sleep, she once more thought of her life.

--

After the accident, she and her dad moved to Tokyo. Fuuka was too painful to live in. There were too many sad reminders of their lost loved one. Saeko had died that night while Natsuki lived. And she hated herself for it, and she knew her father did too.

Haru had never been a loving father but after his wife's death, he grew even colder to his daughter.

His irrational mind could not help but blame his young daughter for his wife's death when he knew it was not her fault. Somewhere in his mind something would just say: _"Well if she hadn't wanted to go out with Saeko, then Saeko never would have died."_

He could never resist this thought.

Haru hated his own feelings and threw himself at his work. His company rose to success but inside he was hollow. All of his love and compassion disappeared the moment his wife died.

A nanny was hired to take care of Natsuki since Haru did not want to become irritated with the toddler and end up hurting her because of his feelings.

And without any familial love at such a young age, Natsuki herself grew up to be cold and stoic.

-

When the nanny first started working, Natsuki thought nothing of it. She knew her father was busy with work. But eventually she saw her father for only a minute or two once a month. She'd tried so hard to get his attention by being superior at sports and academics. She learned how to play musical instruments and began developing artistic abilities. But this never got Haru's attention and she began to resent him for his attitude towards her.

Natsuki had tried hard to be a good daughter for her father because that's what her mother always wanted for her and he was all she had left. But after all of her efforts and still no attention from Haru, she began to be rebellious. The nanny was constantly changing because no one could control the 'bad' Natsuki and they all quit after a few weeks with her.

This continued for six months before Yamada came.

Yamada was an old friend of Saeko and had been recently released from his military service. He immediately rushed over to the Kuga's household after he learned of everything that had happened.

What he saw the first time he arrived would end up changing his life forever.

Natsuki was now a four year old demon. Yamada had come to the household only to see the girl going wild with the nanny and maids chasing after her. He immediately went and disciplined the child with the only way he knew how. A spanking.

Somehow after that, the two had formed a bond. Natsuki resented being spanked since it was the first time someone had raised a hand against her. Not even her father had hit her. She felt weird about it but knew that he wouldn't have done that if he hadn't cared for her. None of the other adults had even bothered to do anything when she rebelled. And that only made Natsuki cause more trouble for attention.

And indeed Yamada loved her. He had constantly received letters and pictures from Saeko of her and Natsuki. They kept up his spirits during his military service and he felt like Natsuki was his own child. He had loved Saeko very much after all in their younger years. But when he realized this, she was already engaged to Haru.

Yamada only knew three things at that time. Saeko was dead, Haru didn't care for his child, and Natsuki was a mini demon.

After the spanking he had gone to see Haru and told him that he'd take care of Natsuki. Haru readily agreed and the papers for guardianship were drafted.

From that day on, Natsuki was taken care of by Yamada.

-

At first she hated it. She hated everyone at that point. But eventually she warmed up to the 'old man' and the two got along like real father and daughter.

Natsuki's real father was not a bad man. He just couldn't cope with his loss. But he gave Natsuki what he could, money. He made a lot being the CEO of his own company and he sent her money every month. Yamada just kept it in an account for Natsuki for her use when she was older. When Natsuki was older she tried to reject the money, but Yamada made her keep it. He knew she would need it in the future and he knew Haru would be somewhat hurt if she denied the money so that's why he did that. The cash was hardly spent unless Natsuki wanted stuff for herself that she didn't want to burden Yamada with.

Well that aside, Natsuki enjoyed living with Yamada. He made her return to her old self who excelled at practically everything. Although, she did have her rebellious outbursts at times. As she got older he taught her how to fight. When she was fifteen he taught her how to shoot a gun and wield other weapons. Yamada had pure intentions in this, he wanted Natsuki to be safe and always know how to defend herself in any situation. He was a military man after all.

It helped that Natsuki hated being a girly girl. She was not the princess who sat in a tower while waiting for her prince to come rescue her.

Heck, Natsuki was the princess who could kick more ass than any prince and would probably be the one doing the rescuing.

Natsuki was always eager to learn from Yamada's military experiences, but the old man was smart. He made Natsuki keep up her grades and do extracurricular activites like the track team and art club before he taught her such things. This deal was the only reason Natsuki even bothered with anything else. And the habits just stuck.

By the time Natsuki was sixteen, she was so many things.

Top of the class of an elite school

Star of the track team, heck probably all the sports teams if she wanted to be.

A virtuoso, completely skilled at the piano, guitar, and drums.

A budding artist who had raw talent.

Best amateur boxer in Toyko and black belt in many different fighting styles.

Top notch marksman (well after practicing for only a year she was pretty damn good).

Natsuki had the talent and skills so many would die for, but she was never satisfied with these accomplishments. She always tried harder, she had to be the best. Even she didn't know why but somewhere in the back of her mind, _Natsuki still wanted to be acknowledged by her father_. He never paid attention to her despite all of her achievements that had even his business partners and employees praising her.

She worked hard to be the best but ended up neglecting having relationships with people because of it. And people did try, but many were just after the amazing idol not Natsuki Kuga.

So maybe that's another reason why she left.

Her father still didn't accept her and people saw her for what she was not for who she was.

The nightmares were probably just the last straw in all she could take.

--

"Urgh. Dammit, I think too much and this is what happens. Sigh, whatever. Maybe sleep will do me some good."

Luckily, that night Natsuki had a dreamless sleep.

--

Eek I edited this on the site and added in a few more things. I know its awkward at some parts but there are a lot of flashbacks and viewpoints that are told in third person so it makes it weird like that. Many parts in this chapter that may have confused you will be explained in-depth later on. I kind of wrote it so that readers don't have all the pieces to the puzzle yet.

This was actually supposed to be called Arrival since at the end of the chapter Natsuki would have made it to Fuuka but I found this spot to be a good ending so yeah.

_Next chapter: Arrival  
_

_Look forward to finally meeting more of the cast. And everyone's favorite character (at least one of mine) makes her first appearance. Treats for anyone who can guess who this character is. Trust me, its not hard :)  
_

Hope you enjoyed this chapter and I'll try to update sometime soon.


	3. Chapter 2

A/N: I apologize for the late update, I've been rather plagued with school projects lately. Fortunately I'm on break right now so I have some time to dedicate to this.

I realize that I've neglected to elaborate on _**Persona 3 **_since I had planned on explaining everything as I write that particular section. But, since there are others that know of it already, it seems unfair that I keep everyone in the dark about it. So if you wish to know more about what Persona 3 is, here is a brief summary:

_Shin Megami Tensei: Persona 3 is a game that was created by Atlus. The game starts off by introducing players to the silent protagonist. He arrives by train to the island of _ and heads off to the dorm. There he meets the other boarders and begins a dark journey into discovering the "truth". _

_He is faced with Tartarus– a complex structure that is actually the school during the daytime. In this place lies the answer to the mysteries, but it is overrun with creatures known as _shadows._ These are monsters that steal the essence of people and leave them to be hollow husks. The only things that can combat them are _persona_ – summoned by select people under extreme conditions. However this all occurs at a specific time only once a day. _

_The Dark Hour. A time when people are "sleeping" and only a handful are aware of this hour's existence. The protagonist and his friends are the only one protecting humanity from the shadows with the power of their persona. _

Disclaimer: I own nothing, Mai HiME and Persona 3 do not belong to me. The only thing I claim is mine is this fanfiction. Any similarities to other stories are pure coincidence.

--

_Chapter 2: Arrival_

All was silent aboard the train as it continued its trek to Fuuka and other locations nearby. In one compartment though, there was a quiet knock as an attendant attempted to get the attention of the passenger. A few more knocks were heard until the attendant gave up in his task and gently called towards the door:

"Miss, we have arrived at the Fuuka Station. This is your stop is it not? Please wake up," Hiroshi whispered quietly. As one of train attendants, it was his job to inform passengers of their stops. This allowed other guests that may be resting to remain undisturbed. A loud announcement over the intercom would ruin the calm ambience of the train.

He shuffled from one foot to the other as he waited a response. Hiroshi had learned early that it was the best idea to be patient rather than rush the passenger once more. The last time he did, it ended with him receiving a verbal thrashing from a rather grumpy older man.

"Urgh," Natsuki had fallen asleep not more than half an hour ago. She did _not_ want to wake up right then.

"Miss?" asked the train attendant once more as he drew out the word. He definitely was not in the mood to face tired passengers who would turn what little energy they had into yelling at him.

"Yes, yes I'm awake" groaned the exhausted girl. "You can go; I'll be out in a minute."

Hiroshi let out a breath he had not realized he'd been holding. _Thank god. I thought she was going to yell at me. _

"Will do miss. When you exit your compartment, walk down the corridor on your left side." He shuffled away onto the next passenger on his list.

The girl muttered thanks as she slowly rose from her sleeping position. _Great. I barely go to sleep and then I have to wake up. Hopefully none of my dorm mates will notice the bags that are probably under my eyes…_

She sighed and began gathering her luggage. It turned out to have been a very good idea to ship her bulkier things to the dorms in advance. Once Natsuki had all of her bags securely on her back or in her hands she headed out of her home for the night.

The corridors were lit up by small lights lining the ground on both sides of the walkway. _How convenient. _She continued on her journey as she exited the train and entered the station. The bright lights nearly blinded her as her vision was engulfed by masses of white blotches. _Damn, the electricity bills here must be insane._

Multiple clocks displaying the times of various locations were ticking away as she walked under the arch where they were situated. _It's almost midnight_. She idly noted.

_I guess I should have gotten an earlier ticket. _Natsuki had neglected to check the arrival time when she had ordered her ticket online. _Oh well. I better hurry though, knowing my luck, the entire dorm is bound to be sleeping already. Sigh…_

She never really had an issue with time since she _always_ had _extra. _

Natsuki continued her trek out of the station and into the busy night life of the city. It was simply amazing. The lights were dim but shone brightly in the pitch black sky. The moon shone with a silver luminescence as it unveiled all of the scenes of the night.

Lovers were holding hands as they shambled about the town. Some were entering certain _establishments_, while seeming giddy with excitement.

Groups of teens – perhaps some breaking curfew laws – were loitering about in front of 24 hour convenience stores or blasting their music at the steps that led into the station.

Workers were commuting home from late night shifts while others were running to make them.

Natsuki was quite used to this kind of life as she had lived in Tokyo for many years now. Yet it still amazed her each time. Probably because she was usually never out past nine due to Yamada's strictness and had always ended up missing the true night rush.

_This is exhilarating. _

The life throbbing through the city continued as Natsuki strolled along the sidewalks illuminated by streetlights. She took out her map as she passed by even more groups of people. _So, just a bit more and I'll be there._

The lone girl had attracted some unsightly attention however, due to her unearthly beauty.

"_Hey baby! Wanna hang out with us, we'll definitely show you a good time." _

"_Damn! Would I like to hit that!"_

"_You lonely I bet, being all alone. Come with me and I'll give you a wild night."_

Comments like these were thrown towards her, but the girl walked on as they had all been stunned by the icy glare that she had given them. It was as if they were hit by a blizzard as those eyes lay upon them. She chuckled however when she heard the astonished gasps and deer-in-the-headlights looks she received.

She pulled out her headphones when she deemed it safe to do so and began playing Redemption by Gackt. The sounds of the night disappeared as her ears were engulfed with her beats.

By doing this however, Natsuki neglected to hear the raucous city ending abruptly.

--

_This neighborhood seems quaint. The buildings have an appealing design and this area seems to be more family oriented. Odd, I would think that a dorm would be in a busier location. _

Natsuki continued the inspection of her new home as she neared her destination.

_Oh wait. I see now. This place is located close to a shopping district, no wonder – easy access to late night snacks or supplies. Mmm, I know one snack I would like right now. (Can you guess?)  
_

It had grown cooler by now as the temperature dropped a few degrees rather suddenly. However, it was of little consequence as the navy haired girl had arrived before the dorm. _I still see a few lights. Hopefully that means someone is awake at the moment. _

She paused before the stairs leading up to the building and took a deep breath. She adjusted her hold on her luggage and rearranged her clothing. _It's now or never. _Natsuki wrapped her hand around the doorknob and began turning.

--

Surprisingly the door had not been locked as the girl had previously thought but she wanted to try first anyways. She entered into the parlor of the dorms and examined the area.

It was a bit dark but she could still see from the light a nearby lamp was giving off.

_Hmm, whoever designed this place has nice taste. _

And indeed they did. The parlor was a mix of contemporary and classic styles. It was split into three sections by low walls. The first section was by the entrance and it was the lounge. Past it were the dining hall and kitchenette and to the left of both areas, a pathway towards the curved stairs located at the back.

Towards the center right of door was a living room with two sofas and two armchairs forming a rectangular shape with a coffee table in the center. The longer sofa laid against the wall and on both sides of it were end tables. A bookshelf laid a little ways past the longer sofa in the direction of the window by the entrance.

Past this section was a large conference/dining table that accommodated many people. The living and dining rooms were divided by low walls that stopped in the middle to provide a walkway. Part of the wall separating the living room from the other areas formed a corner and a T.V. was placed there above a stand. Beyond the table, all the way in the back was the kitchen. It was lined with connected granite topped counters that had barstools before it. The kitchen itself was behind the counters and consisted of – from what Natsuki could see – a stove, refrigerator, and other things that she did not recognize. _Maybe it's a dishwasher, how convenient. _

But back to the parlor now, towards the left of the door as one walked through was an area that was reminiscent of a hotel counter. It had a long wooden counter that extended for quite a bit and then curved where a small gate closed that section off. A door lay in the region behind the counter and there were cubby holes for mail perhaps (???) that truly reminded one of a hotel. _There's even a little bell. _

_(A/N: I describe this place badly compared to how it actually looks. If you want to see what the lounge actually looks like please view some YouTube videos of the game.)_

Being in a childish mood, Natsuki went up to the bell and rang it once. It had a clear a quiet tone and Natsuki smiled at the soothing sound.

"_I've been waiting for you."_

The girl whipped her head towards the direction of the voice and found herself facing a young girl with blonde hair that almost appeared white due to the lighting. It was weird, she hadn't heard the child nor had she seen her in her previous inspection of the first floor of her dorm.

"Who are you?" Natsuki asked apprehensively. This girl frightened her a bit, but she wasn't about to show it.

"_Hmm, well…You'll know soon enough. But first off, will you sign this?" _The girl pointed towards a red notebook by the bell.

_Was that there before?_

"Is this a...contract? What's it for?" Emerald eyes glanced towards the blonde with a querying look.

"_It's for you to be fully responsible for your actions, nothing more, nothing less…" _She smirked back at Natsuki. That vicious grin seemed impossible for such a childish face.

Natsuki continued to stare at the girl attempting to discern her true intentions. _The terms seem to be fine…but, I can't shake the feeling that if I sign this something terribly wrong is going to happen. _She glanced once more at the girl and sighed heavily. The girl was a frightening combination of innocence and something else.

_I'm gonna get nowhere like this. The contract is probably just regulation for everyone living at the dorm. I'm thinking too hard on this. _

"Fine."

In a neat scrawl, the navy haired girl proceeded to write two words down.

Kuga Natsuki.

_Hmm, the deed is done. And so it begins.  
_

Cerulean eyes took one last glance at the body leaning over the notebook before disappearing along with the contract.

"Who's there!"

Once more the navy haired girl whipped her head around.

Alarm ran through her as she found herself staring into the muzzle of a gun.

--

Short chapter but I'm working on the next part right now. Just felt that this was a nice *coughcliffhangercough* stopping point.

Drop a few reviews to let me know how this is so far and if I should devote more time into it.

It is a definite that Shizuru will be popping up next chapter. Sorry for lying .


	4. Chapter 3

A/N: Yes! I finished this chapter before my break was over! So here's the next installment following the cliffhanger if you want to call it that.

On another note, this follows the game somewhat but it's going to deviate, a lot.

_Also thanks to __lildevilish, Kanna, and Silver Ice Bullet for the reviews. It motivated me to write this chapter rather than procrastinate :)  
_

Disclaimer: I own nothing, Mai HiME and Persona 3 do not belong to me. The only thing I claim is mine is this fanfiction. Any similarities to other stories are pure coincidence.

--

_Chapter 3: School_

"Did you not hear me? Who the hell are you!?" Wild lime green eyes swept the lounge as if searching for more intruders.

Natsuki was stunned as she stared at the red head that still had her gun aimed at the blunette's head.

"Ara, Yuuki-san. Let's not be too hasty now shall we," called out a lilting voice.

Both girls turned their heads toward the newcomer and the red head or Yuuki dropped her gun wielding hand to the side.

The 'newcomer' was an older girl with long flowing chestnut hair. She continued walking towards the duo and fixed her crimson gaze on the so called intruder.

"I didn't think you'd arrive so late. My name is Shizuru Fujino. I'm one of the students who live in this dorm." The soft voice was about to continue until an interruption from the red head came.

"Who's she," was hastily whispered to the older of the two.

Another calm response: "She's a transfer student. It was a last minute decision to assign her here. She'll eventually be moved to a room in one of the other dorms."

The red head pondered this for a moment before asking: "Is it alright for her to be here?"

"I suppose we'll see," Crimson eyes gazed merrily as she noticed the subject of the conversation still staring at them in shock with her mouth wide open. She giggled lightly to herself. _How adorable, she looks as if she just saw a ghost. _Shizuru proceeded to continue the introductions: "This is Nao Yuuki. She'll be a junior this spring, just like you."

"Uhh…hey…" mumbled out Nao before quickly sheathing the gun in a holder wrapped around her thigh.

This got Natsuki's attention as she finally snapped out of her daze.

_I can't believe she tried to shoot me!_

"Nice to meet you, I'm Natsuki Kuga."

_Oh hell, what am I doing with the pleasantries? I almost got shot dammit!_

"...Just wondering…what's with the gun…"

An awkward silence permeated the room as emerald eyes stared back and forth from crimson to lime. A quiet red head just fidgeted nervously in response as she had no idea how to answer that. The oldest was in her signature pose – an arm across her abdomen holding the elbow of the other arm whose finger lingered across her lips.

"I-I-I like guns! Uhh…wait, I meant there were flies so I had to shoot them! Yeah that's it!" exclaimed Nao as a light bulb seemingly went ding inside her head. Too bad this light bulb soon broke after the ridiculous comment.

Luckily for Nao, Shizuru came to the rescue. "Ara…well Kuga-san, you know how it is these days... It's for self-defense. It's not a real gun, of course."

_Not a real gun my ass. I know a fake when I see it and that is __**so **__not a fake!_

"…yeah…I understand…" Natsuki sounded out. She definitely 'understood'.

Not wanting to provoke anymore interrogating questions from the blunette, Shizuru decided to end the interesting night. "It's getting late, so you should get some rest. Your room is on the second floor, at the end of the hallway. Your things should already be there."

--

"Here's your room and key. Don't lose it though; Fujino can be pretty scary about stuff like that."

"Thanks," Grasping the key from the red head, Natsuki put her hand on the door knob and began turning before being stopped by a hand on her wrist.

"Sorry," Nao quickly said. She immediately released her hold on the navy hair's wrist. "I…" she began rubbing the back of her head nervously. "I just wanted to say sorry. For earlier you know."

Natsuki blinked. She had certainly not expected an apology when she was delayed from entering her room. Nevertheless, she gave the girl a brief smile.

"No problem, it was just – surprising I guess. By the way…"

"Yes?" prodded the red head. She was relieved that the girl took no offense to her earlier actions…_Not that I would care if she did though...__God I'm talking to myself again. _"Well…" Natsuki trailed off when she noticed the blank stare she was receiving from bright lime eyes. Nao was finally jolted from her reverie and flushed a bit due to her lack of attention.

Not wanting to embarrass herself further she responded curtly: "I don't have all night, what did you want?"

"Sorry," mumbled Natsuki, "I just wanted to know who that kid was."

"What kid?"

"The blonde one," Natsuki could not help but roll her eyes at the red head. _Honestly, how can you not know who you're living with?_

"There's no one like that here. Hey! Is this supposed to be some joke for earlier? I said I was sorry. Jeez. What more do you want from me?"

_Joke? This isn't a joke. I was honestly asking. Sigh. _"Never mind then." The navy haired girl turned around once more.

"Wait."

"What?" Natsuki replied harshly. _Crap, I sounded like a jerk. _

"On the way here…was everything alright?" asked Nao. She had honestly been hesitant about asking but she had to know.

"Yeah, everything was fine."

"I see…well night then."

"Alright, good night Yuuki-san."

"Nao."

"What?"

"Just call me Nao."

"Mm…then, night Nao. Feel free to call me Natsuki."

"Will do Kuga," The red head had a faint smirk on her face when she glanced up to see Natsuki's reaction.

Natsuki simply responded with a light chuckle and headed into her new room. Once the door was closed, the red head whispered: "Night…Natsuki."

Turning around she proceeded to head to her own room.

--

A body was slumped over in a heap on the ground like the piles of clothes around and under it. Twitching and turning, it began rolling before hitting the leg of an overturned chair.

"Urgh…" mumbled out the body. It slowly began falling asleep once more before there was a knock at the door.

"Oi, Kuga. You awake yet?"

Groaning, the body or well Natsuki started rising. "Yeah," she responded weakly.

Hearing the other girl's tone, Nao began worrying a bit. Not that she would ever admit it. She quickly opened the door to the room but was stopped by an unknown obstruction. _The hell?_ Shoving the door harder now, Nao stared into the room. "Holy shit!"

Facing the red head was a scene of chaos. Furniture lay all over the place and bits of cardboard and tape littered the room. There were a few suitcases here and there some opened and some not. At the epicenter of this mess was the body of one Natsuki Kuga. Her clothes were the same as the previous night and the blunette's hair lay tangled and covering her face.

Coming up behind the red head was a newcomer, a stranger – at least to the blunette. "Whoa, what happened here Nao?"

Turning around Nao faced the newcomer. "Have no idea. But I don't have time for this. Mind waking the pup for me?"

"Pup?"

"Yeah, I have no idea what else could make a mess like this besides some new puppy that someone just brought home." Without waiting for a further reply the red head walked off while texting on her cell phone.

"Really now, no sense of responsibility at all," staring at the blunette the newcomer began her task of rousing her from her drowsy state.

"Miss Pup, please wake up." _Oh that rhymed!_ The newcomer chuckled to herself. Then again it was not like she could call the occupant of the room by anything else. She had no idea what the sleeping girl's name was.

"Mgh, I'm not a pup," mumbled out the blunette. This brought a laugh to the other girl. "Well if you don't want me calling you that, better wake up and tell me your name.

The girl muttered a few incoherent phrases before making a few more attempts to rise from the pile of clothes she was currently on. After three failed attempts the blunette gave up and just flopped back on to her "mattress".

Giving out a sigh the newcomer decided to use her last resort: "You're going to be late for school."

Natsuki immediately shot up at those words and ended up tripping over one of the straps of a bra lying nearby. Tumbling, she face planted into the hardwood floor but got up once more and let out an exasperated: "Why didn't you say so?" before rushing to get ready.

The newcomer sighed before leaving the room to give the other girl some privacy.

--

"So, like what you see so far?" asked Mai.

"Yeah, it's amazing."

After the self-inflicted mad rush of the morning, Natsuki had finally formally met the newcomer while on the train ride to school. The newcomer, otherwise known as Mai Tokiha was a busty orange haired girl with a friendly personality.

Natsuki had found the girl to be pleasant company. And dare she say was perhaps her first friend in this new environment.

The two had been engaged in friendly banter over the condition of Natsuki's room before Mai noticed their location.

"We're almost there. Look, you can see the school now."

The blunette looked to where Mai pointed and all she could do was stare in awe.

Her new school was an immense structure created – at least she thought – to be the most aesthetically pleasing thing around.

The architecture was of a modern style and the buildings were a light color with glistening windows all over them. There were beautiful cherry trees spread about the campus and many other beautiful plants. In what appeared to be the courtyard, was something that resembled a fountain.

As they neared, the blunette could see that the campus was huge. There were many different sections and subsections to the school.

"Welcome to Fuuka Academy Natsuki."

--

I was going to write more but this was like the perfect place to stop at, would've been criminal if I didn't. This was short and more of a fluff and fill chapter but I can assure you that more action and guns (drools) are soon to come! :)

Some of the dialogue this chapter followed the game's script so if it sounded familiar to some that is why.

Hmm to all those readers out there, what do you think about the summary – not my full one? Does it make it seem like this is going to be a suicide story or something? I fail at writing short summaries. Treats for anyone who can come up with a decent summary for me :3


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